A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 VERY DISAPPOINTED!!

As some of you may know from my previous post, I ordered the new Coconut Lime Echinacea from White flower Farms. I received it yesterday....VERY DISAPPOINTED!! I know new cultivars are expensive and I was willing to pay the $18 to get it, but I was expecting to get a healthy, well developed plant. Instead what I got was this tiny plug that had just recently been put into a 3" pot, and it hardly had any root system at all. I persoanlly would have been ashamed to sell something that puny for that much money. If they didn't have time to allow the plants to grow a better root system they should have told customers there would be a delay in shipping. I emailed them but so far they haven't responded. This may be the last time I order from them, especially if they don't even respond.

Yikes..
Have you ever ordered from there before???

OH NO! I wanted to order that from there too!

when i bought my purple coneflowers years ago, they arrived as small, bare-root plants...they WERE second year plants tho and did bloom the first year i had them - and they've thrived since.

i have to say that that is a LOT for one plant...i'm sure it'll be just fine.

That is terrible Alan! It looks like you are not the only one who has received such plants before. Check this out a lot of people are complaining of paying way to much for very poor plants. I hope yours survives!

Alan,

I feel for you ........Doesnt it have a replacement for that ? SO me give you a year to get another one..

Not only that , the postage is quite horrible also......

Let us know how you make out.

Alan, I received a gift certificate from them two years ago. What I received for the 100.00 was pathetic. I have not ordered from them again.

They have pretty pics in their catalog. The plants are not any bigger than what you get at Michigan Bulb.

They do have a guarantee, and I will definetely remind them of it if need be.

This wasn't a 2 year old plant by any means...it looked like it had been started only a few weeks ago.

I believe they are a sister company of Springhill Nursery, which is very similar to Michigan Bulb. Haven't been too happy with them either.

If I don't get a response from my email soon, I am going to call. I recently found 2 other mail order nurseries with it much cheaper, and I spoke to both of them. They both said they just received them and they wouldn't be shipping them until later because they haven't developed yet!

alan

Thanks for the advice on both.
Sad how some are..
I just received my blue rose from Gurneys, and am very much pleased ..It was big and stems were very thick.. I planted it already.
They sent me Sea Shell cosmos and they are planted and growing .. Inside..Most of the seeds grew.

b

oh no I sure hope they make it right for ya !!

JONI

Dodge--be careful of Gurney also---the first (& last) time I ordered from them I received a almost dead Clump Birch "root"--(that they passed off as a tree) and of course it did not survive. Nothing I ordered from them that year made it. I will say I have never been disappointed with Stark Bros--but then they do not have the variety a person sometimes wants/needs. Good luck!!

akhart - did you receive any feedback yet? I emailed them and told them I was thinking of getting one, but had a friend who was not happy with what they received and this is what I got today.

Dear Gardening Friend,

Thank you for your recent correspondence. Early spring the plant size can vary, Coneflower is slow to emerge in the spring. Most Coneflowers at this early date have minimal top growth. However, our production team is currently evaluating the root system to determine if we need to delay shipments until the plant develops a stronger root system. We recently were informed by a customer who was disappointed with the size and root system and we are evaluating them due to this finding. We appreciate customer feedback and take it very seriously. If you ordered a Coneflower from us and are not happy, we will gladly replace the plant or refund your money back to you. We guarantee 100% satisfaction, so I hope that your friend will contact us as well. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do for you.

Sincerely,
Michelle
Customer Service Manager

I also emailed 2 other companies who have them and they said the same thing, that they will not be shipping them out until later in the summer when they are more established.

I ordered from White flower Farm ONCE too but never will again. They are soooo proud of their stuff. We could all take our money and buy at least two or three plants elsewhere for what they charge for one!

Gurney

So far, mine are ok.. We will see and i will tell if it is so ,
Pinetree garden seeds is the lousy one for me.
Paid a fortune and the seeds arent germinating.

You get 4 or 6 seeds in a pkt.. That is gross. They didnt list the amounts when I ordered and I was suspicious.

No more from me.

Well, someone actually called me today form WFF. She said they were very sorry, blah, blah, blah. They had the production team look at the plants and decided to delay shipments until the roots had developed more and thanked me for bringing it to their attention. She also gave me a refund. So, I guess the only money I'm out is the rediculous shipping charge.

Well, that's good news you'll be getting your
money back Alan!!!

alan

Horray.That made it more bareable....

Cheer up youve good pals on here.